Is 'Fair Use' Getting a Fair Trial?
Category: Publishing , Copyright Law
This article, in response to upcoming legislation regarding copyright, music download issues, and in particular the definition of 'fair use' is on many a publishing executive's desk today as the industry watches with keen interest what's going on on the other side of the neighbor's fence.From the article:
"The new Section 115 Reform Act (SIRA) of 2006 is scheduled for markup tomorrow, and the EFF is sounding the alarm. "Why the rush?" they ask. "Because otherwise someone might notice that the bill represents an unholy alliance between the major music service providers (AOL, Yahoo, Apple, Real Networks, etc.) and [the] music publishing industry. If the bill passes, they win, but fair use loses..."
"The EFF says, 'This is dangerous language that creates a dangerous precedent. When courts look at how copyright should apply to new digital technologies, they often have few judicial precedents for guidance and thus they turn to the Copyright Act itself for clues about how Congress views similar issues. Incidental copies made in the course of otherwise lawful activities should be treated either as outside the scope of a copyright holder's rights or as a fair use (even the Copyright Office agrees on the fair use point). But you can be sure that the copyright industries will use SIRA as a precedent to the contrary in future fights.'"
Read the full text of 'Will "fair use" be fundamentally redefined this week?'